Uefa have intervened to gain dispensation for Boro to wear their usual shirts tonight bearing the name of sponsors 888.com.

This is because a new law was introduced in Italy last month banning the names and logos in sport of sponsors who are involved in gaming and gambling.

The Italian media believed that Boro would have to blacken out the 888.com logo which sits in the middle of the white chest band.

But Boro appealed to UEFA, who have cleared up the matter following discussions with the Italian authorities this week.

The issue was raised during a rather aggressive press conference at the Olympic Stadium last night when Boro boss Steve McClaren was peppered with lots of demanding questions from Italian newspaper men and TV reporters.

It was the biggest press conference that McClaren has faced during Boro's two years in Europe, though he dealt with it well.

However, the Italian reporters kept pressing the question about the shirts and Boro's communications manager Dave Allan intervened to stress the fact that Boro had received permission from UEFA following negotiations at the highest level.

After the conference Boro trained on the Olympic Stadium pitch in front of a barrage of touchline cameras.

However, the training session was "open" only for around 20 minutes before the media had to leave the impressive 46-year-old stadium.